


While My Guitar Gently Weeps

by KentuckyTheFried



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2001), Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Inspired by Music, One-Sided Attraction, References to the Beatles, hana and kyo both have perfect pitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23776672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KentuckyTheFried/pseuds/KentuckyTheFried
Summary: After a harrowing conversation with Momiji, Kyo decides to pick up the guitar and learn how to play a song for Tohru. Tohru catches him practicing, and shenanigans ensue. All Kyo can hope for is that Momiji will reward him with some new ice cream.
Relationships: Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou
Comments: 1
Kudos: 28





	While My Guitar Gently Weeps

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first Fruits Basket fic! This has actually been in my drafts for a solid year and I only had the drive to finish it today, oops -  
> Hope you enjoy!!

“So vhen are you going to confess to Tohru?” 

Momiji’s legs dangled over the edge of the stone wall as he took another lick of his ice cream cone. He’d gotten a scoop of orange sherbert, a flavor that Kyo despised. He’d gotten mint chocolate chip - or, he  _ had  _ gotten mint chocolate chip, past tense. Momiji’s question came as so much of a surprise that Kyo had somehow chucked the entire cone forward, watching as it splattered to the ground ten feet below. He groaned, his fingers digging into his skull.

“Why are you asking something like that?!” His yell was muted by his palms, “I don’t have to confess anything to her!!”

“But it’s not good to keep your emotions all bottled up to yourself!” Momiji stated, “You clearly have feelings for Tohru! You should tell her how you feel -”

“Not in a million years,” Kyo interrupted, releasing his face from his death grip. A cool breeze passed by and informed him just how strong his fingers had dug into his scalp, and he hissed at the sudden relief. “She’d just say some crap about how she loves having me as a friend too. Besides, I’m not good for her.”

“Aw, don’t say that!” Momiji cried, “Hmm...fine, I vill let you in on a secret: I think she likes you as more than friends too!”

“That’s bull and you know it.”

Momiji giggled, moving his gaze out to the distant horizon. It was a beautiful day to be outside - picture perfect clouds, not too warm, the smell of spring still fresh in the air. The sky was something out of a fairy tale, bright teals and powder blues that had begun to fade into gentle yellows and marigolds opposite to the sun’s descent behind them. Kyo had woken up thinking it would be a perfect day to hike, maybe find a quiet spot in the forest to train, but was pegged with “babysitting” Momiji when the rabbit had decided to stop by for a surprise visit. And of course Shigure had to be out at a book signing, and of course Yuki was at school overseeing a school event, and of course Tohru was spending the day with Hana and Uo -

Well, actually, that was fine, she needed some time to enjoy herself. 

But nevertheless, it meant he had to spend the day with Momiji. He told himself it could be worse, that it could’ve been Kagura who’d stopped by. That would’ve been hell. 

“I can help you confess!” Momiji suggested, his legs swinging with joy. “There’s so many vays to tell her how you feel, you can buy her chocolates or flowers, you can take her on a picnic in the park, you can write her a poem or a song, or take her to a fancy restaurant -”

“I didn’t ask for your help!” Kyo interrupted sharply, “Those are all too cheesy anyways.”

“So you admit you want to tell her then?”

Kyo rolled his eyes. “...say a word about this to anybody and I’ll break your arms.”

“I won’t tell a soul!” Momiji promised by crossing his finger over his heart. 

Pursing his lips together, Kyo found himself thinking of all the suggestions Momiji laid out. Chocolates and flowers were simple, easy enough, but they were too typical. And what if he ended up getting flowers Tohru was allergic too? No, too easy, not heartfelt enough. 

Picnic in the park sounded nice, but there was too much of a chance that it’d be ruined by outside circumstances. They’d run into someone, he knew it, he could feel it deep inside his heart that it wouldn’t go well. The same went for the fancy restaurant, except it came with the expectation that he’d be paying. He was a high school student, for crying out loud, and he wasn’t about to go to Shigure to ask for date money. 

And Kyo wasn’t going to write a poem or a song. Language was his least favorite class, and he wasn’t about to sit down and try to make words rhyme with each other. Even he was aware of his own impatience - he’d rip up the paper after the second sentence, the third if he was having a good day. 

But he had to admit,  _ singing  _ a song wasn’t a bad idea. Tohru loved music - he’d often find her dancing as she cleaned, bright pop music blasting from the family’s tiny stereo. She’d have headphones in while she was studying, when she jogged the school track for gym class, even as she was out buying groceries. And there weren’t any rules about needing to write a song, he could just use one he knew, right? 

“...Maybe a song could work,” Kyo mumbled to himself. “I’m not writing one, though.”

“Vonderful!!” Momiji cheered, “I know Shigure has a guitar you can use if you vant musical accompaniment!”

“Shigure has a guitar?” Kyo asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yes! He mentioned using it to serenade high school girls?”

If Kyo were in a cartoon, little red veins would be bulging out of his skull. “God  _ damn it Shigure - _ ”

“Regardless of the reason he owns one, I bet he’d be more than happy to lend it to you!”

“He’d tease me about it until the day I died.”

“Orrrrr, he vill be supportive and try to help you!” Momiji countered, “You vill never know if you don’t ask!”

Kyo admitted silently that the rabbit had a point. He’d be damned if he admitted it out loud, so instead he gave a curt nod. “I guess as long as the rat doesn’t catch on, it wouldn’t hurt.”

“That’s the spirit!” Momiji jumped up, somehow keeping his ice cream from toppling over. “Come on! Let’s go talk to Shigure!!”

Kyo was slower to rise, pouting as he saw his mint chocolate chip ice cream melting ten feet away on the sidewalk below. A moment too late he thought about taking Tohru out for a night on the town, stopping for ice cream. But he’d committed to the serenade, and he was going to stick with it - after all, it had been a long time since he’d sang for someone.

~

After a long day at school Tohru decided to clean the kitchen. It had been a long time since she’d scrubbed the counters, and there were no immediate quizzes or tests she needed to study for. So she walked inside, placing her shoes near the front and saying hello to Shigure before making her way into the kitchen. There was a closet nearby that housed all of Tohru’s cleaning supplies - her mop, scrub brushes, gloves, apron, assorted sprays and sponges. She was quick to gather up everything she needed, plopping them down on an empty counter before realizing she wanted to grab her headphones. One step back towards the hallway, and Tohru stopped.

There was already music playing. 

Yes, faint music, coming from a faraway source. Her interest peaked, Tohru tried to follow the melody, and managed to get to the stairs before running into Shigure again.

“Done already?” Shigure asked, “I knew you were diligent, but -”

“Oh, no no no!” Tohru raised her hands in defense, “I have to start working, but I was just curious about where that music’s coming from.”

And then Shigure’s soft smile turned into a knowing smirk. “Now that would be coming from Kyo on the roof. He wanted to pick up guitar, so I lent him mine. I believe he’s been practicing up there for about a week now.”

“Oh, really?” She clasped her hands together, “That’s fantastic! I’m glad he’s been finding new hobbies to try!”

“You’re right, it’s a nice change of pace for him. In fact, I don’t think he’d mind you going up there and giving him a little encouragement.”

“But what if he doesn’t want me there? He might be nervous playing in front of other people, especially since he’s only been playing for a week…”

Shigure’s head tilted slightly to the left, the playful glint still evident in his dark eyes. “He wouldn’t say no to having you there, Tohru. Now get up there. Your cleaning supplies won’t go anywhere.”

“If you insist...I’m definitely curious,” Tohru said, in part to Shigure and in part to herself. Shigure walked past her to the common area and she went up the stairs to the second floor. Base walls and closed doors greeted her; she walked past to reach the the attic stairs. Kyo didn’t really use this route to reach the roof, preferring to do...well, she wasn’t sure. But it was much easier for her to get to the roof using the attic, since there was a ceiling hatch that she could climb out of. Up the stairs and into the attic, Tohru held back a sneeze. It was dustier here than she realized! She made a mental note to ask Shigure about cleaning the attic after she was done with the kitchen.

The walls were thin, inviting the sounds of the outdoors. Here the guitar was louder, more precise. And here she could make out Kyo’s voice above the guitar, trying to match the notes he was playing. She recognized the song on his lyrics alone - an old song, a classic that refused to be lost to time. She grinned to herself, preparing to open the ceiling hatch before suddenly shrinking back as the music stopped. Kyo grumbled loud enough for her to hear, but not decipher. Tohru took a deep breath and opened the hatch, poking her head through the gap.

Outside it was sunny and beautiful, hardly a cloud in the sky and hardly a breeze to be noticed. Kyo wasn’t sitting far from the hatch, but his back was to Tohru, and he was slouched over a dark acoustic guitar. 

“You sound great, Kyo!” Tohru exclaimed.

Kyo jumped, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on edge. She could imagine a pair of kitty ears flattening as he turned around with a glare. “W-Were you listening to all of that?! What the hell, that’s creepy! You could’ve at least told me you were there!!”

“I only just came up,” She pushed herself out of the hatch and made sure to close it behind her before walking over to Kyo, trying desperately to keep her balance on the tilted roof and slippery tiles. “Shigure said you were trying to teach yourself how to play the guitar! I didn’t know you were interested in music!”

“‘Course I am,” Kyo grumbled, watching as she sat herself down next to him, “Can’t leave here without a pair of headphones. I just don’t bring it up, it’s no big deal.”

“What kind of music do you listen to?”

“Stuff you wouldn’t like.”

“How do you know?”

“I just know. It’s not like that pop shit you listen to when you’re cleaning.”

A breeze hit Tohru just as he finished speaking, her hand raising to catch the strands of her hair that tried to fly away. She loved how long her hair was, but with how windy it had been the past few days, she was considering getting it cut. Shorter hair was easier to maintain, after all!

Snapping out of her thoughts, Tohru saw that Kyo had turned away, his hands still attached to the guitar. The guitar was the perfect size for him, and yet something about it, perhaps the idea of playing, made it feel big and clunky on him. The guitar strap pressed into Kyo’s shirt, a dark maroon V-neck that he’d worn yesterday. The strings hummed quietly as Kyo’s fingers grazed them just enough to produce sound, his left hand having formed a shaky chord. His eyes were focused on the neck of the guitar and he mumbled something under his breath. 

“You were playing ‘Yesterday’, right?” Tohru asked, a slow question as she struggled to find the name of the song in her memory, “That’s a Beatles song! I didn’t know you liked the Beatles too!”

“How did you -” Kyo grumbled, turning back to face her, “Y-Yeah. They’ve got easier chords in their songs apparently, so I thought…”

She giggled. “A lot of their songs do! Though, ah, if you don’t mind me asking...what chord are you trying to play?”

“...an F. I can hear what notes need to go in it, but my fingers aren’t doing what I want them to do.”

“Oh! Yeah, that chord’s tricky. Are you trying to bar your first finger on the first fret?”

“Yeah? Isn’t that how you’re supposed to play it?”

“If you can’t get your first finger to stretch that far or press down hard enough, there’s another way to play an F!” Tohru reached out to Kyo’s hand, and she found that he watched without flinching away. “Just move your first finger here...yep, just make sure your first finger is pressing down on those first two strings, and when you strum, don’t play the E string, the top one that you’re not pressing!”

With Kyo’s fingers in place, he glanced down and did as Tohru asked. The resulting chord was much nicer in sound than the previous, and with a newfound strength, Kyo strummed a few times with his pick, making the chord louder. Tohru beamed as Kyo sat back, a small grin on his face. His cheeks looked a little flushed - how long had he been outside in the sun? Maybe Tohru would bring him some sunscreen after this, just in case.

“How’d you know what to do?” Kyo asked her, letting the chord go and leaning over the guitar.

“I took a music theory class with Hana last year!” Tohru explained, “It was a lot of fun, though I wasn’t the best with figuring out what notes sounded right with each other. Hana helped me out a lot with that since she has something called perfect pitch. I was much better at memorizing different keys and notes, though I wish I could teach myself how to hear what notes are which!”

“Oh...yeah, I’ve got perfect pitch too. Bit of a curse, if you ask me,” He shrugged.

Her eyes widened and she folded her hands together, a burst of energy flowing through her body. “You do?! Oh, Kyo, if it’s not too much trouble, maybe we could teach each other! Since I know the chord structure and you know what notes sound good together! That could be so much fun!!”

“I, ah…” Kyo trailed off, finding sudden interest in something behind Tohru. She peeked over her shoulder to see if anything was wrong, but there was nothing but her long unruly hair and the neighboring forest behind her. When she turned around again, Kyo was standing himself up, moving the guitar around so it was dangling at his hip.

“I’m not any good, so I don’t want to trouble you with it, but…” Kyo scratched behind his neck with the hand that wasn’t resting on the face of the guitar, “I’d...yeah. That’d be fun, I guess.”

“Yay!” Tohru stood up with him, “It’ll be like a music date! I’m super excited to - OH NO, I FORGOT ABOUT MY CHORES!!”

Tohru bounced to her feet, almost losing her balance. She earned a yelp from Kyo, but he was behind her now, and she was racing towards the hatch in the roof that would take her back to the attic. “Sorry Kyo, I promised Shigure last night I’d have the kitchen cleaned before dinner today, I’ve gotta go!! Have fun, you sound amazing so far!!”

And she quickly disappeared down the hatch, closing it behind her. Kyo watched her leave, waving with a weak hand. After a few seconds of silence, Kyo rubbed his forehead. He knew how flustered that conversation had made him, and could only hope that she hadn’t caught on as to why. But at least now he could say that this was a success, but not in the way he envisioned. 

Kyo told himself that Momiji would owe him mint chocolate chip ice cream the next time they went out together. He damn well deserved it. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Did I just project my perfect pitch onto Kyo and Hana? Yes  
> Did I give Kyo one of the first songs I managed to learn on guitar? Yes  
> Did I make both Kyo and Tohru Beatles fans? Yes (oops)
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope I did these guys justice!!


End file.
